For my photo essay, I toured Walnut Way with Pastor Ken Wheeler of Cross Lutheran Church. I came into the meeting already knowing Pastor Wheeler, as he was an interim pastor at a church I attended. I was surprised to learn how much Cross does for the Walnut Way community and the area in general. They run two different health clinics, which employ a full-time doctor, nurse, and pharmacist. Dr. Schmalzle, a member of the congregation, also volunteers one day a week. The clinic treats a wide variety of problems, but among the most common are high blood pressure and diabetes. On average, they treated around 3,000 people each week. In addition to the clinic, Cross also organizes a food pantry which feeds approximately 85 families each week. Each week, they serve a hot meal to over 200 people in the basement of their building. To achieve this, they work very closely with Galst Food Market, a staple in the Walnut Way community.
During the tour, Pastor Wheeler referred to the Walnut Way houses as “signs of hope and struggle,” hope in that a lot of progress has been made, struggle in that there have been rough times and there’s still a lot of work to be done. Just across the street from Cross is a Milwaukee County Bus Station, which was built after many homes were torn down so that the highway could be built. In Walnut Way, some houses have yet to be renovated or occupied, and between 16th and 22nd Streets drugs and prostitution are still major problems. Pastor Wheeler also called attention to the fact that just across North Avenue the quality of housing decreases significantly. This was an observation I had also made while trying to locate Cross. He was also quick to point out that the rising property value of the area wasn’t entirely good for the community; with rising property value comes higher taxes, a factor which may eventually force some families out of the area they’ve worked so hard to improve.
-Drew-
